Boudin Shuts Down Market Street Location After 26 Years

Boudin, the San Francisco-born food chain that’s been serving up sourdough bread for more than a century, has closed its busy location at 619 Market Street. Its last day of business was December 3rd.

The closure is a bit of a headscratcher, as this particular location, which opened in 1990, has had long lines during the lunch rush and steady business in the early evening for many years.

A slightly cryptic statement sent to us today by Boudin Bakeries Inc. said the historic building that houses the location—which features a head-to-toe brick façade—could not be adapted to accommodate an expanded menu that the company is rolling out.

“As a company, we are moving forward with opening and operating our Boudin SF concept, which offers diners an expanded menu," the statement read. "Unfortunately, it was not feasible to retrofit this historic building to accommodate the needs of Boudin SF."

The company noted that all employees at 619 Market Street were offered jobs at its other San Francisco locations.

Inside the Market Street location. | Photo: John Mitchell/Flickr

Founded in San Francisco by Isador Boudin in 1849, the company now owns and operates 26 locations in California, with six of those in San Francisco proper. Fisherman's Wharf has two locations (a flagship on Jefferson Street and a smaller location at Pier 39), and there are also locations in the Inner Richmond, at 4 Embarcadero Center, inside Macy's in Union Square, and at the Stonestown Galleria.

The company is growing: a spokeswoman said via email that it's opened 11 restaurants in California in the past three years, in locations like Cupertino, Fremont, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Vacaville, and Walnut Creek.